Early modern Homo sapiens in Africa and
Southwest Asia 100,000 years
ago made tools that were similar to those of the Neandertals and other late
archaic humans. These were mostly simple Mousterian-like Levallois flake and core tools. However,
by 90,000-75,000 years ago
some modern humans began producing new kinds of artifacts that
were revolutionary enough to warrant their being placed into a different Paleolithic stage--the
Upper Paleolithic.
This was the height of technical sophistication during the Old Stone Age. These
innovative developments are most well
known from European sites, but similar advances were occurring elsewhere
in the Old World and later in the New World as well. Foreshadowing these new
technologies
were harpoon-like bone projectile
points in use by at least 75,000 years ago in West
Central Africa.
By 70,000 years ago in South Africa, stone was being prepared for flaking by
heat-treating. This made it easier to flake and shape into finer
cutting and puncturing tools. These innovations apparently were
unknown to Neandertals
and other archaic human populations.

Ultimately, there were a number of different
regional Upper Paleolithic tool traditions around the world. The most sophisticated may have
been the MagdalenianTradition of Western Europe. It began about 17,000
years ago and lasted until the end of the last ice age around 10,000
years ago.

Paleolithic Tool Traditions

Paleolithic
Stage
of Development

Beginning(years ago)

Tool Tradition

UpperPaleolithic(in Europe)

17,000

Magdalenian

21,000

Solutrean

27,000

Gravettian

33,000+

Aurignacian/Chatelperronian

MiddlePaleolithic
(in Europe)

75,000+

Mousterian

LowerPaleolithic(in Africa)

1,500,000

Acheulian

2,500,000

Oldowan

Note: the
Acheulian Tradition began
byat least 1.5 millionyears ago in
Africa. It did not reach Europeuntil
much laterwhen the first
humansarrived. The Mousterian Tradition is
most well known from post-75,000
year old sites in Europe, but it very
likely began in Africa around
150,000-100,000 years ago. The
first Upper Paleolithic tool
traditions
probably evolved in Africa
by 90,000
years ago.

The
various Upper Paleolithic tool traditions were successful cultural adaptations
to diverse environments around the world. In temperate and subarctic
regions of the northern hemisphere,
specialized big game hunting was the most
common subsistence strategy. However, even among the societies that focused
their hunting efforts on reindeer, horses, and other large mammals,
there was exploitation of
vegetable foods, fish, and other small animals.

Small game
and plant food exploitation became increasingly important
to the Cro-Magnon and most other people in the northern
hemisphere after 15,000 years ago. This was a
necessity because most of their populations were growing and the
climate was changing as the ice began to melt near
the end of the last ice age.During the roughly 5,000 years of final glacial melt, large game
animals became progressively scarce in the northern
hemisphere. As a result, human hunting success
would have been rarer. The combined effect of
rapidly changing climates and increased hunting by humans
with more effective weapons heavily contributed to
the extinction of at least 50 genera of large animals (mostly mammals) at that
time. It also was in this late
period after 15,000 years ago that fishing spears, hooks, and nets
became increasingly more common. In Europe, the main focus of fishing
appears to have been salmon going up streams to spawn and seals that were
pursuing them.These climate related changes in
subsistence pattern began even earlier in Southwest Asia and other relatively warm and dry regions.

Spear thrower

The
Cro-Magnon people increased their food supply by developing
coordinated group
hunting techniques for the killing of large herd animals, especially in the river valleys
of Western Europe and the plains of Central and Eastern Europe. They also
developed new specialized hunting weapons. The art of spear hunting was
revolutionized by the invention of the spear thrower (or atlatl )
about 17,000-15,000 years ago. This was a wood or bone rod with a hook
on one end that fit into a socket at the base of a spear.
This device was used as an aid in throwing spears.It
increased the range and force of impact of
projectiles by essentially increasing the length of the spear thrower's arm. The net effect was that hunters did not
need to get as close to
prey before throwing their spears.
Toggle-head
harpoons
were invented about this time as well. The
bow and arrow were invented by 12,000 years ago or a bit earlier. This further
increased the range of projectiles. The fact that these weapon
systems were developed toward the end of the last ice age is probably not a
coincidence. They were technological solutions for
the growing difficulty of acquiring meat.

Armed
And Deadly: Shoulder, Weapons Key To Hunt--audio recording
of an NPR interview with
anthropologists
David Green, Susan Larson, and John Shea concerning
the relationship between
the peculiar human shoulder joint and the
evolution of effective projectile weapons.
This linktakes you to an
external website. Toreturnhere,
you must click the "back" buttonon
your browser program.(length = 5mins,
56 secs)

Note: Spear throwers may have been made as early as 25,000 years
ago in North Africa. Whether the European Cro-Magnon people
independently invented this technology later or acquired it from North Africa
is not known.

Upper
Paleolithic
Stone Tool Making Technology

The
basis of many Upper Paleolithic stone tool forms was the blade flake.
This is a thin, roughly parallel-sided flake that is at least twice as long as it is wide. The cross-section is usually either triangular or trapezoidal. They were made out of brittle-breaking
rock materials such as
flint ,
chert , and
obsidian . Blade flakes were
preforms for the manufacture of many
different kinds of tools, such as knives, hide scrapers, spear tips,
drills, awls, burins, etc.

European Upper Paleolithic
tools made from blade flakes

Blade
flakes were nearly standardized shapes that were struck off assembly line
fashion from a prepared core usually by punch flaking. This
method uses indirect percussion to
better control the direction
and force of the shock wave
entering a core. This facilitated the repeated production of long,
delicate flakes. Blades were struck off around aprepared core like the careful
unwinding and sectioning of a roll of paper. It is
possible to knock off blade flakes with direct percussion using a
hammerstone rather than a
punch, but it is more difficult.

Punch flaking
technique used
to make blade
flakes

Blade flakes and
the "spent"core
from which they
came

Tools made from blade
flakes were far more efficient than core and flake tools made by earlier
peoples when compared in terms of maximizing the use of precious brittle-flaking rock materials.
This increased efficiency can be measured roughly in terms of the amount of
cutting edge that can be produced from the same amount of stone.

It is now known that
knowledge of how to make blade flakes preceded the Upper Paleolithic tool
traditions. However, it was not until the late ice age cultures of the
Cro-Magnon people and some of their contemporaries outside of Europe that
long, thin, delicate blade flakes were commonly produced and used.

Upper
Paleolithic tool makers also frequently employed a further refinement in working with stone.
After preliminary shaping by percussion flaking,
they often finished a tool with pressure flaking. They literally pushed off the
edge flakes with the tip of a deer antler in the final shaping and thinning process. This resulted in
small, regular flake scars and much greater control in determining the shape
of the final product. Pressure flaking was also used to retouch, or
sharpen, thin edges of spear tips and knives.
Pressure flaking apparently was first used during the Middle Paleolithic in
Africa around 75,000 years ago.

Pressure flaking technique

During the Upper Paleolithic, we see the
first abundant evidence of tools for making other tools. Such things as
narrow gouging chisels, known as burins, were used to make and shape a host of
other implements out of bone,antler,
and ivory. Additional tools were created for
the purpose of working on other implements such as pressure
flakers, punches,and
spear shaft straighteners. The Upper Paleolithic
also saw a heavy dependence on compound tools, such as intentionally
detachable harpoon points and interchangeable spear foreshafts of hard wood attached to
spears. Compound tools have the advantage that they can be repaired.
When one part breaks, it can be replaced rather than replacing the entire
tool.

Compound tools and tools designed to
work on other implementsare not just new kinds of tools but rather new kinds
of tool-using principles. This was a giant intellectual leap
forward. It also extended the range of raw materials that could be used for
tool making. Bone and antler especially came into more common use.
They had been used occasionally in the earlier Mousterian tool
tradition, but
were only modified clumsily by hammering, scraping, and burning.
Among the Cro-Magnon people, bone and antler progressively
replaced wood and stone for many functions. Dense bone and antler are
more durable than wood and more flexible than stone so they do
not break as easily and yet can be used to make relatively sharp cutting edges
and penetrating projectile points. The
amount of time that they are still usable can be extended by resharpening
by abrading with rock when they
become dull.
These materials were now being employed to make long thin knives, awls, sewing
needles, clothing fasteners, harpoons with barbs, and many other useful
implements.
One result was that tailored clothing and tents were easier to make. The
first known sewing needle came from southwestern France and dates to about
25,000 years ago. Residues of animal skin pants, shirts, and shoes have
been found in a 22,000 year old Cro-Magnon grave near Moscow in Russia.
Wild flax fibers from 34,000 year old thread or twine have been found at a cave site in the
Republic of Georgia. Some of these fibers
appear to have been dyed black, gray, turquoise, and/or pink. The
fibers were twisted, suggesting that they had been used to make thread,
string, or rope. Thread could have been used to sew leather pieces
together. Thicker twine or rope could have been used to tie things
together and make carrying easier.

Magdalenian bone sewing needlesfrom Gourdan Cave, France

Magdalenian bone harpoon points
with barbs(their broken tips
are on the right)

European Upper
Paleolithic Art

The
Cro-Magnon people of Europe regularly decorated their tools and sculpted small
pieces of stone, bone, antler, and ivory. Necklaces, bracelets, and
decorative pendants were made of bones, teeth, and shells. Cave walls were
often painted with naturalistic scenes of animals. Clay was also
modeled occasionally. From our culture's perspective, these symbolic and
naturalistic representations would be referred to as art. However, that
is an ethnocentric projection. For the Cro-Magnon who made this art, it
was very likely thought of as being something different, or at least much
more, than we think of as art or ornamentation. For instance, it may have had magical and/or
religious functions.

Upper Paleolithic European
representational art began by
40,000 years ago and became
intense 15,000-10,000 years ago. Perhaps, the most prominent portable art
was in the form that has become known as Venus figurines.
These are sculptures of women.
They are not
portraits but rather faceless idealized representations of well fed, healthy,
usually pregnant nude women with
exceptionally large buttocks and breasts. Because of these
exaggerated sexual characteristics, they are thought by
most paleoanthropologists to be ritual objects symbolizing female fertility.
Many of these stylized carvings are reminiscent of modern abstract art. Venus figurines
were made from around 35,000 years ago down to the end of the last ice age 10,000
years ago. They have been found from Western Europe all of the way to Siberia.
Most were small enough in size to be easily hand held.
The Venus of Laussel shown below on the right is a rare exception.

Venus of Willendorf
Austria
(4 3/8 inches
[11.1 cm.] tall)

Venus
of Lespugue
France(5 3/4 inches [14.6
cm.] tall)

Venus of Laussel
France(17 inches [43.2 cm.] tall)

Lion-man hybrid
from Hohle Fels, Germany(11.7 inches
[29.6 cm.] tall)

Not all
of the portable art was in the form of Venus figurines. Many small carvings have been
found that depict animals and people, including men.
There are carvings of human penises as well.

Carved bone(late Magdalenian
Tool Tradition)

Carved bear teeth
from Duruthy Cave,
France

The
Cro-Magnon people are, perhaps, most well known for their paintings on the walls of caves.
Although, this cave
art is
most abundant in Southwest France and
Northern Spain, it was
made elsewhere by other early modern humans as well. With cave art, we see the first large scale,
concrete symbols of human thoughts, feelings, and perhaps even beliefs about
the supernatural. Over 150 Western European caves have been found
with these ice age paintings on their walls.

Most of
this cave art was made deep inside caves, in hard to get to dark areas.
It is assumed that because of the locations, these areas were very likely
sacred or special in some sense and that the art was inspired by concerns with the supernatural.
The majority of the figures are realistic looking herd animals, many of which are shown either
wounded or
pregnant. A number of paleoanthropologists have suggested that the artists were
most likely performing sympathetic
(or imitative) hunting and fertility magic. This would have been
particularly important when this art was at its peak in sophistication
(15,000-10,000
years ago) because at that time the last ice age was winding down and the herds of game animals were
dying out or moving away to the north. Some of the animals depicted in
the caves were predators, such as cave bears and lions, rather than
prey.
Drawing and painting them may have been a way of obtaining protection from
these dangerous creatures or even a way of taking on their ferociousness and
skill to
increase human hunting success. Because of the
subjects being depicted, it has been suggested that this cave art was the
focus of men and, subsequently, was produced by male artists. In
contrast, the Venus figurines suggest predominantly female interests. However, because we
know so little about the living cultures of the Cro-Magnon people, we must
always be careful in interpreting their art. We may not be grasping
the intended function and meaning.

Human
representations are rare among European cave paintings. Those that do exist
usually are simple stick figures of men hunting. They often are shown
with erect penises (as shown in the photo below). There are also several
depictions of bearded adult male
heads. One is life size. The largest is 6 1/2 feet
(2 m.) tall with a
cap. There have also been found geometric patterns in some of the caves
that have been interpreted as female genitalia.

Painted human
stick figurein Lascaux
Cave, France

Note the spear through
the bison and its intestines
hanging out. Two spear
throwers are also shown
next to the recumbent man
who presumably has been
gored and is dead, despite
his erect penis.

Some of the European cave art seems to have been
associated with ceremonies. These ceremonies may have been accompanied by
music. The areas of the caves in which paintings were made and used often
have good acoustical qualities. Drumsticks, flutes, and bull-roarers
were found near the paintings in Lascaux
Cave. The art very likely reflects the Cro-Magnon world view. Some
researchers have suggested that they were, in part, depicting their spirit
world. The fact that footprints of both adults and children have been found
in some of the caves near the paintings has also suggested that the art was
connected with male initiation ceremonies
for boys becoming men.

Some
cave walls and bone artifacts have sequences of incised
lines and short marks or ticks that do not appear
to be representational art. Some of these incisions strike one as being strictly utilitarian tallies.
However, their actual purpose is unknown. Such
marks have been found on bone artifacts made by late Neandertals, but they did not
become common until the Cro-Magnon people developed their Upper Paleolithic
tool traditions. A
few Cro-Magnon bone artifacts dating to as early as 25,000 years ago have
what appear to be carefully incised lineal sequences of circular to
crescent-shaped ticks. Alexander Marshack believes
that at least one of these bones (shown below) was made to be used as a lunar calendar of sorts.

If calendars were being made,
it implies that some people were recognizing the cyclical nature of the
seasons. To people dependent on seasonally available foods and migrating
herds, a calendar would have allowed more accurate predictions that would make the
food quest more efficient. Also of great value to Upper Paleolithic
hunters and gatherers would have been maps. The earliest possible map was
scratched into a 16,000 year old bone found at Mezhirich in Ukraine. It
evidently
shows the countryside around a Cro-Magnon settlement.

The Cro-Magnon art changed through time.In the period 40,000-25,000 years ago,
bone flutes, carved figurines, and personal
decorative ornaments such as bracelets and
pendantsbegan to appear.
Until recently, it was thought that the oldest rock art was charcoal
drawings of bison and rhinoceroses dating to 31,000 ± 1,300 years ago in
the French cave of Grotte Chauvet .
Recent dating of red human hand paintings in the northern Spanish cave of El
Castillo indicate that they were made at least 40,800 years ago.

The
second period of Cro-Magnon art was 25,000-18,000 years ago. Cave art
apparently became relatively common in Southern France and
Northern Spain at
that time; however,
it mostly consisted of rough animal outlines, abstract forms, and genitals. This was
a very cold phase of the last ice age. The Cro-Magnon people probably created
these paintings while wintering over in the caves.

In the
period 18,000-15,000 years ago, more elaborate animal depictions were being
painted. Shading was now used to indicate muscles and hair. In
addition, animals were depicted moving.

The greatest period of European
cave art was 15,000-11,000 years ago. This phase coincided with the final
melt phase of the last ice age
and the height of the Magdalenian Tool Tradition. Large sanctuaries were created which had
realistically colored bison, horses, deer, cattle,
and other large animals. The cave art at this
time was likely the product of a burst of ceremonial activities. Many
tools were carved decoratively in that terminal period as
well. Likewise, personal decoration made of bone, teeth, and shell was
very common. This was the period of the most elaborate Venus
figurines. The tradition of making these stylized female representations
lasted for about 25,000 years. As such,
it represents a remarkably persistent belief system. The duration is
even more remarkable when considering that Islam has existed for only about
1,400 years, Christianity for 2,000 years, and Judaism (in its current form)
for less than 2,500 years.

It is
important to remember that Europe was not the only part of the world in which
early modern humans produced art.
The earliest known possible art object was found in South Africa. It is a 77,000
year old nodule of hematite that has
engraved geometrical designs. Depictions of animals were being
painted in southern African rock shelters possibly as early as 28,000 years
ago and beads made from ostrich shells were being made there by 38,000 years
ago. Cave and rock shelter paintings also have considerable antiquity in Siberia and Australia.
However, Upper Paleolithic art was especially abundant in Western Europe and
is most well known from there.

Upper
Paleolithic Social Changes

The extraordinary advancements in Upper Paleolithic
technology and art did not take place in a vacuum. They developed during
a time of remarkable social changes. Those changes created the
necessary environment for the cultural innovations to occur. The
ultimate driving force was probably a combination of population growth,
larger communities, more efficient subsistence patterns, and increased life
spans. From
the time of the earliest humans 2.5 million years ago
until around 50-40,000 years
ago, the global human population experienced only very modest growth.
People
evidently lived in small hunting, gathering, and scavenging bands that
rarely exceeded a few dozen individuals. Life expectancy was typically
30 years or less, often much less. Recent analysis by Rachel Caspari
and Sang-Hee Lee of human teeth from Upper Paleolithic sites has shown that
beginning around 30,000 years ago there was a sharp rise in the number of
people who were over 30 years old. They were living significantly
longer on average. Caspari and Lee calculated that there probably was
a 4-fold increase in the number of grandparents, since generational times
were likely to have been around 15 years. In most societies of the
past, grandparents performed the valuable function of taking care of and
educating grandchildren, thereby allowing their own adult children to become
more involved in food acquisition and other activities. This could
have been one of the major contributors to the creative explosion of culture
in Upper Paleolithic societies. Childrearing grandparents perform the
critical job of passing on their society's skills and cumulative knowledge
to the young. This was most likely the case in Upper Paleolithic
societies as well. Another consequence of increased longevity is that
women have more reproductive years. As a result, an increase in family
size and the growth of populations is almost inevitable. Caspari and
Lee suggest that the rapid cultural evolution, evidenced by new technology
and art during the Upper Paleolithic, largely was a consequence of these
demographic transformations.
Likewise, the Upper Paleolithic cultural developments no doubt contributed
to increased longevity in turn, which fueled the population explosion.